Fibromyalgia and Exercise
by Marilyn Mackenzie
No matter how understanding a fibromyalgia sufferer's doctor seems to be, at some point, that doctor will tell his/her patient that exercise will help the fibro patient feel better. For most of us, that is not true.
Normal people can feel invigorated by exercise. They might hurt initially, but as they increase their frequency and level of exercise, they begin to feel better. It's often not so for fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue patients.
Last week, I noticed that a team of researchers is studying what happens when someone with fibromyalgia or CFS exercises. Since fibro patients complain of the worst pain during and after exercise, this research team is studying the blood of study patients before and up to 48 hours afterwards.
The article I read said:
What if a blood test could reveal the muscle fatigue, pain and exhaustion that you feel? This may seem like a pipe dream, but a husband and wife team at the University of Utah (Alan Light, Ph.D., and Kathleen Light, Ph.D.) just published very encouraging preliminary findings and are now working to refine their biomarker techniques.*
One of the key elements of the Lights' studies involves looking at what happens when people with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia exercise. During and after exertion is when CFS and fibromyalgia patients say they feel the worst, which is why the Lights are capturing blood samples up to 48 hours after a standard exercise routine. Healthy people, however, usually find a bout of exercise to be invigorating, and it pours out substances that reduce painful sensations.
The symptoms in up to 70 percent of fibromyalgia and CFS patients overlap, and both conditions are defined by symptoms, which makes their diagnosis and treatment all the more difficult. Patients also face serious credibility issues in the doctor's office when their symptom severity cannot be documented anywhere in their blood work or other standard tests. Without disease biomarkers, it is hard to be a patient with fibromyalgia or CFS, but there is good reason to believe this gloomy picture is going to change.
Your muscles have a system to sense fatigue, just as they are capable of sensing pain. It is all based on the metabolic or chemical byproducts made in your muscles. The more you work your muscles, the greater the accumulation of metabolic substances that can stick around to activate the pain and fatigue detectors. Healthy people and CFS and fibromyalgia patients have these same detectors in their muscles. Perhaps exercise may cause more to be produced, or they might be more easily activated in CFS and fibromyalgia patients. These are questions that the Lights sorted out in their preliminary study of 19 CFS patients (13 of them meeting the diagnosis for fibromyalgia) and 15 control subjects.
Sofar, the study has shown that the sensory receptors for fatigue and pain and the immune substances were similar in fibro and CFS patients and healthy people prior to exercise. But after 25 minutes of moderate exercise, the differences between control subjects and patients with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue were dramatic.
"Thirty minutes after exercise, we were seeing substantial increases in all of these receptors," says Dr. Alan Light.
To read the rest of the article, click here:
Personally, I'm thrilled that a study is being done about this. I remember how invigorated I used to feel after a walk, a bike ride, or an exercise routine. And each time a well meaning doctor tells me that exercise is important to my health, I really do try to do more exercise. But the results are always the same. My pain increases and that level higher of pain often lasts for days.
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Fibromyalgia Alternative Treatment: Dance Therapy
One of the latest treatments for fibromyalgia is an alternative fibromyalgia treatment known as dance therapy. While only initial studies have been conducted into the effectiveness of dance therapy in improving an individual’s health, these studies show promise in the treatment of fibromyalgia. But what exactly is dance therapy and how can this alternative fibromyalgia treatment help to minimize common fibromyalgia symptoms?
What is Dance Therapy?
Dance therapy is the therapeutic use of movement that aims to improve physical and mental health. Also known as movement therapy, dance therapy focuses on restoring a healthy mind-body connection through promoting health and healing.
Dance therapists conduct both individual sessions as well as group therapy sessions (i.e. for family members of an individual). A therapist will establish a dance program that is tailored to meet the individual’s condition, which is reflected in the difficulty level of therapy sessions as well as the frequency of sessions. In addition, depending on their condition, some individuals may choose to take regular dance classes in order to improve their health.
Health Benefits of Dance Therapy
Clinical reports have shown that dance therapy is effective in reducing stress as well as improving self-esteem; it is also a beneficial form of exercise that improves muscle strength, postural alignment and flexibility.
In addition, studies have linked dance therapy in the treatment of a variety of conditions, including the following:
anxiety
body tension
chronic pain
depression
stress
Dance therapy is offered for individuals without major health problems, as well as a form of complimentary treatment for individuals with cancer and other chronic illness. It is also beneficial in the reduction of stress for caregivers.
Physical benefits include increased mobility, flexibility, coordination and decreased muscle tension. Movement therapy also improves the health of the circulatory, respiratory, muscular and skeletal systems. While there is a lack of scientific evidence thus far to support these claims, supporters of dance therapy believe that dance therapy strengthens the immune system through muscular activity as well as through physiological processes, thereby preventing disease.
There are also a variety of emotional benefits associated with dance therapy, as physical activity promotes the production of endorphins, a hormone that stimulates a sense of well-being. In addition, dance therapy has several emotional and social benefits, as it improves self-esteem and promotes social interaction with others.
Dance Therapy and Fibromyalgia
A study involving 36 female patients with fibromyalgia syndrome found that dance therapy was beneficial in the treatment of fibromyalgia. The study showed that six months of dance therapy resulted in improved physical and psychological functions in study patients. Patients experienced a greater sense of well-being and also had a minimized perception of pain.
In addition to chronic pain, dance therapy can help to minimize fibromyalgia symptoms such as muscular problems, anxiety, depression and fibrofog.
Individuals with cardiovascular disease and arthritis should consult their physician before starting any form of movement therapy.
Dance Therapy Tips
If you are interested in pursuing dance therapy as part of your fibromyalgia treatment, keep these tips in mind so that you can maximize the benefits of movement therapy for your condition:
have reasonable expectations. Don’t put unrealistic expectations on yourself to be a natural dance whiz. Remember that having fun and feeling healthy and good about yourself is the most important part of dance therapy.
pick a style of dance that suits you. If you’re signing up for regular dance classes, choose a form of dance that best suits your personality and interests, as this will provide you with enthusiasm and will keep you motivated to continue and to keep challenging yourself.
focus on self-expression, not comparison. Everyone has a unique body with its own strengths and flaws. Rather than focusing on your body’s limitations, embrace your body and the ways in which it allows you to express yourself, as this is what makes you a unique dancer.
©2008 Fibromyalgia-Symptoms.org
I admit, sometimes I do too much.
When I do, I'm miserable for days.
I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia when I was in my thirties and later upgraded to CFIDS so I stopped mentioning the fibromyalgia. After receiving the CFIDS diagnosis, I was tested in a rehab center to determine exactly how much "exercise" my body could handle.
The results were shocking for this previous exercise junky - not much. My body has the physical strength and dexterity to do what I always did, but my energy level will not support that. It's not an easy position to be in, since I have the drive and ability to do more than I should. If not careful, I will deplete my energy resources and be unable to move.
They determined that I have what is equivalent to four hours of energy a day. I've learned to manage those hours so that I can live a somewhat normal life but that does not include the kind of physical exercise I wish it did.
My energy isn't easily measured in time. Instead, I know that I can do one major thing every day. That might mean going to the grocery store, or to church. If I do more than that, then it's like I've used up the energy that was supposed to be for the next day and the next. And sometimes the next. (Have you ever read the Spoon Theory? That's another way I explain the lack of energy to people.)
I think that the level of pain also helps decide energy level. I've accepted as normal having pain 24/7. Luckily, my body likes to focus on one major pain at a time - usually. When it veers from that, and I have pains everywhere - of all kinds (you know, some stabbing, some throbbing, some firey) , that's when I have to take pain pills. But my pills don't really take the pain away. They just make me not care.
I'm also able to localize my pain to one area and control it (for the most part) through self-hypnosis. I'm grateful, every day, for my ability to keep pain at a tolerable level without drugs (unless you count my cigarettes).
Type A made me giggle. I lived life to the fullest for more than 40 years. My first question when I was diagnosed with CFIDS was, "It is possible I've used my lifetime allotment of energy?" I try to compensate my lack of physical energy with mental energy now. I went back to school the first few years after I stopped working and try to read and learn new things now that I'm spending most of my time at home. It helps - but I still miss my energy.
I haven't read the Spoon Theory but will look for it. Thanks for the suggestion.
Here's my Living Around Disability, if you're interested. My publisher asked me to consider writing a book on the topic years ago. I put it off because I wasn't sure how to approach it without credentials. My doctor has agreed to work with me on it so I'm reconsidering now.